Yes. Yes it can. My father uses his Cypress DX every singe day to commute to work, and if anybody knows how to abuse and mistreat a bike, it's him. Bike holds up fine so far.
Had a crank arm thread strip and a pedal fell out, but that's the bike shop's fault, not Giant's.

How far a ride can one get in Cypress, with and without front suspension?
Related, is it better to get a Cypress per se with or without front suspension (I read the other front suspension threads, but looking for Cypress-specific comments).
Thanks.

Well, suspension weighs more and can suck up some of the rider's energy. However, since you are a tiny person, you won't have that problem so much as a heavy person. Ride what feels best to you. I ride a Giant Suede with suspension and don't regret having it. I ride across sand, gravel, ruts, etc. to get to the pavement which I prefer to ride on. I'm not a heavy person so don't notice the loss of energy that some complain of.

Its a hard line "rule" that you want a plain front, no shocks, for town riding. But, I live in a small rural town that includes very few smooth paved roads. I really like my front end supension after testing several road bikes, looking to up grade from my present hybrid. Im still riding my hybrid.

I'll go against the pak and vote for the Sedona. I test rode the basic Cypress and tought the compontents were crap, even to my untrained newbie eyes. I choose the GT Nomad over the Cypress. The Nomad had better components and was cheaper. The Cypress DX is a better bike and worth the little extra money. You might want to look at other bikes if you are planning on adding racks and bags. Like my Nomad, the Cypress isn't set up for easy mounting of racks. I had to go down to Ace Hardware and pick up p-clamps to mount my racks to the Nomad. This didn't allow the rack to fit right due to beign a bit too high and close to the seat post and frame.

The Sedona has 26" wheels. I like the ability of to run over to Wally World, five miles of short riding from my house, and pick up a tube or wheel. They may not be the best, but they get my daughter's bike back on the rode till I get to the LBS. Also, the wider tire (IMHO) helps on the non smooth roads and sharp rocks. That means fewer flats.